In 2023 people around the world will be commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The 80th anniversary is a point of departure for us not only to commemorate those who perished in the Warsaw ghetto, but also to reflect back on the stories of those who survived. Below are some biographies pulled from our collection of stories located on our Virtual Shtetl website.
Read the accounts of people who were civilians in the Warsaw Ghetto and the Uprising. Read their stories to see how each person lived before the War, what activities they participated in while in the ghetto, and how they endured the Uprising.
Władysław Szlengel: A poet, painter, and set designer associated with the Kaminski Theatre >>
- Date of birth: Between 1912-1914
- Place of birth: Warsaw, Poland
- Date of death: 8 May 1943
- Place of death: Warsaw, Poland
Władysław Szlengel was born prior to World War 1 and Poland regaining its independence. It was exactly in “District VI,” at 14 Waliców Street, where the young Szlengel grew up. He absorbed the climate of Warsaw's Wola district, the area of Żelazna and Chłodna Streets. In 1930, Władysław graduated from the Merchants’ Association Trade School. In the same year he made his debut in, “Nasz Przegląd” (Our Review) with a poem entitled, “Cjankali.” Since then, Szlengel's poems had appeared in many newspapers – “Nasz Przegląd,” “Szpilki” (Pins), and “Robotnik” (Worker). Later he cooperated with theatres and cabarets, and created sets for various venues. It is also estimated that he wrote about 70 songs. Many of them have been immortalized on vinyl records by Syrena Record and Odeon.
After the outbreak of World War II, Szlengel took part in the defence of Warsaw, but later on would end up in the Warsaw Ghetto. During his time in the ghetto, he wrote poems documenting everyday life and the Holocaust. His works, reproduced using carbon paper, were read throughout the closed district. Szlengel also collaborated with the Oneg Shabbat group.
To read his full bio click here >>
Neomi Yudkowsky (Zofia Rozenstrauch): A graphics artist & architect >>
- Date of birth: 1920
- Place of birth: Warsaw, Poland
- Date of death: 1998
- Place of death: Israel
Neomi Yudkowsky was born in Warsaw to Justyna, born Rosenshtrauch [according to some documents Justyna’s maiden name was Kuperweis], and Michael Wolf. She had an elder brother named Ignacy, and a sister named Felicja. Her family belonged to the average-upper class. Her mother's parents dealt with commerce of wool cloth and her grandfather from the father's side was employed as a senior clerk in a cigarettes' company. Later on, her father opened a store of cloths.
In 1939, upon the outbreak of the war, she was admitted to study Architecture at the Warsaw Polytechnic, which granted every year only 5 places for Jewish students out of 70 students admitted in general. On 2 September 1939 the Second World War broke out, and Warsaw was heavily bombarded from the air and land. During the first months of the Nazi occupation in Warsaw, the family tried to continue with the daily routine, in spite of the oppressing regulations against the Jews: confiscation of goods and property, bearing a humiliating sign on the sleeve and the constant chasing of the polish population, which collaborated willingly with the Nazis - openly and under cover. Neomi's family was lucky since they lived in the area included in the ghetto and so they had no necessity to look for a new place to live; they stayed in their home. Neomi was occupied with some graphics work and later she was cashier in a Pharmacy until 1942.
Later on, the ghetto was closed and a cufew was imposed, hunger and typhus spread everywhere and in addition the "big action" took place - everyday Jews were sent to the East. When the Germans surrounded the ghetto, Neomi's family entered one of the bunkers and stayed there for several days. The Germans caught the family and they were sent in May 1943 to the Majdanek concentration camp. In Majdanek the father was separated from the rest of the family. Neomi's mother, her sister and her father perished after the selection and Neomi was the only one to survive.
To read her full bio click here >>
Zalman Akerman: A teenager's story of survival >>
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- Date of birth: 1927
- Place of birth: Warsaw, Poland
Zalman was born as the only child of Itzhak and Haya Akerman. His father was a hat maker, and his mother was a nurse. His grandmother lived with the family and helped a great deal, since his mother worked at one of the hospitals in Warsaw.
"My Holocaust started when I was 12", relates Zalman. "On September 1st, 1939, the Germans bombed Warsaw. A bomb fell on our house and miraculously we were saved. We were put in a Ghetto. One day, during one of the actions, the Germans caught me, and I found myself, together with several dozens of other Jews, marching towards the Umschlagplatz – the place from where the Warsaw Jews were sent to extermination camps. We waited for the train inside a large building. When the sign was given, we were ordered to march towards the train, escorted by armed Ukrainian soldiers."
Zalman managed to escape this situation by hiding, and made it back miraculously to his family in the ghetto. On April 1943, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising broke out, all the Ghetto residents went down to the underground bunkers. Zalman and his mother stayed in one of the largest bunkers in the Ghetto.
To read his full bio click here >>
Gershon Sirota: A singer, dramatic tenor, cantor >>
- Date of birth: 1874
- Place of birth: Hajsyn
- Date of death: April 1943
- Place of death: Warsaw, Poland
Sirota was born into an orthodox family in Podolia region of Eastern Europe. He had a phenomenal voice, great improvisational talent and a thorough musical education. He began his singing career in Jankiel Soroker's choir in one of the synagogues in Odessa. The outbreak of World War II found him in Warsaw. In 1940 he found himself in the Warsaw Ghetto. From 1941, he gave concerts in the Great Synagogue in Tłomackie. He died during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in a bunker under the house at 6 Wołyńska Street.
To read his full bio click here >>